THIS is just one weapon from a haul of guns that was bought with frightening ease at the click of a button.

Potentially lethal weapons including handguns, stun guns and rounds of ammunition were recovered by police officers in Hampshire after they were bought over the Internet.

Insp Andy Bottomley is shown with one of the items recovered.

As reported in yesterday's Daily Echo, a dozen addresses in the county were targeted by officers after intelligence was received that the weapons had been bought on a website.

Police fear that, although the owners may be legitimately buying them, there is a chance the weapons could end up falling into the hands of criminals.

The operation to recover the guns was aimed at sending a message to owners that the authorities are committed to ensuring gun crime remains low in Hampshire.

Leading Operation Bembridge in the county, Chief Insp Richard Burrows said: "This is one of the ways we want to ensure guns do not fall into the hands of the criminal fraternity. The weapons are currently being examined to determine whether they are legal or not.

"The quantity of weapons recovered didn't come as a surprise as we had good intelligence about what we were dealing with.

"What will come as a shock to members of the public is how easily these weapons can be bought.

"They may turn out to be legal but 25 per cent of these types of weapons were found to have been converted to full firing weapons during the last phase of Operation Bembridge."

The weapons were recovered from homes in Fareham, Gosport, Sarisbury Green, Winchester and Bishop's Waltham.

Chief Insp Burrows added that no one had been arrested or charged in connection with the latest phase of the operation, which is part of a nationwide crackdown.

"This is an ongoing operation and one that we are tackling proportionately in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, as they remain two of the safest counties to live in. We are making sure people know that we are using the intelligence we get to stop the weapons getting into the hands of criminals in the first place."